


Even the Champion has his Quirks...

by ead13



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Nugs, Phobias, meeting the Warden contact, something even VARRIC didn't know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 06:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15858495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ead13/pseuds/ead13
Summary: Prompt: Hawke is afraid of nugs. Forget giant spiders and werewolves, it’s those funny pig rabbits that make him flee.The meeting with the Warden contact should be a serious matter, but Hawke is acting quite strange since he set foot in that cave...





	Even the Champion has his Quirks...

“You know, now that the rain has stopped and the undead aren’t shambling around, I suppose this area is actually quite pleasant,” Karaas commented, even as his heavy veridium boots sank deep into the mud. His companions weren’t having quite so much trouble traversing the washed-out terrain, being much lighter in comparison to the hulking Qunari, but even still their optimism couldn’t match his.

“We should have given it a week to dry out before hunting down the Warden contact,” Varric grumbled. “I’m going to lose a boot in this muck!”

“Maybe we will lose YOU in this muck,” was Cassandra’s sharp retort.

“That would be unfortunate for the literary world. Perhaps if you really want that next chapter you’ll have to carry me!” This earned him Cassandra’s signature snort of disgust.

Karaas just responded to the banter with a hearty chuckle as he plodded along. Despite the angst and drama between Varric and Cassandra over Hawke’s appearance at Skyhold, he had seen to it that they were at least on working terms before taking them into the field together. It turned out that a work of smutty literature could work wonders…

“There.” Cole interrupted the conversation even with his small, gentle voice. He pointed at what appeared to be the entrance to a cavern higher up the hill. Sure enough, the figure of Garret Hawke could be seen leaning casually against the rock face, arms folded and eyes scanning the hillside. Karaas nearly called out a greeting, but quickly remembered the covert nature of this rendezvous.

“Good. I look forward to learning what this Warden would share with us.” Karaas unconsciously picked up his pace, his goal straight before him. It helped that the terrain had changed from mud to rock, easing his movements. Despite his lumbering form, his legs were so long that it took a great deal of effort from his companions to keep up.

They were nearly to the cave when Hawke spoke first. “Good to see you made it. And quite possibly changed the weather, oh mighty Inquisitor?”

Karaas shrugged. “I think so.”

Hawke shook his head with a grin. “That’s good. Add it to your list of miracles. I was worried you’d lose Varric to the mud.” 

“That’s what I said!” Varric confirmed, gesturing as if he were the victim. Cassandra face-palmed.

“Well, in any event, the man you want to speak to is in here. Just go straight back, you can’t make a wrong turn seeing as there ARE no turns. I’ll stand watch out here.”

“Nonsense, Hawke, you’ve got to introduce us! Cole can keep watch; kid’s practically invisible.”

Hawke’s bravado faltered momentarily. “No, really Varric…”

“Come on, big guy, let’s go.” Before Hawke could protest further, Varric had grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him inside.

Karaas and Cassandra shared a bewildered look, then shrugged. “Cole, are you alright staying out here to keep watch?”

“Yes. I will watch things seen and unseen,” was his serious reply. Karaas no longer questioned these cryptic answers.

“Okay then, thanks Cole. We’ll be inside if you need us.” Before he entered, he beckoned grandly for Cassandra to go first, giving a slight bow. She blushed, and hurried inside where it was too dark to notice.

Karaas, despite being a generally positive guy, was starting to regret his decision to go in and not have the Warden come out within ten steps of the cavern. It was a tight fit for a regular human, and for him, well, it was downright claustrophobic. The light at the end of the tunnel grew smaller and smaller the further they went, with only the odd torch to light the path. Water trickled down the cavern walls, giving it a slimy appearance and giving the Inquisitor the impression of being swallowed whole by a giant snake. Just when he thought about turning back while he was still able to move, he heard the squeaking of a nug echoing through the tunnel. Great, he’d probably step on it and crush it given the circumstances…

Varric’s voice surprised him. “You’re awfully tense there, Hawke. It’s just a nug, not some darkspawn. Besides, even if it were, you’ve got a WARDEN hanging out in here to handle it, not that you couldn’t.”

“Yeah, right.” The Champion’s voice was stiff, or was that a trick of the acoustics?

Finally, they came to a boarded up gate. The symbol of the Blind Men so prominently displayed at the door was…spattered with blood. “I take it your Warden friend evicted these guys?” Varric questioned.

“Oh yeah. It may not be the Wardens’ vendetta, but at least my friend does not take kindly to slavers.” He pushed open the gate. “After you.”

 

One by one they filed in. The cavern seemed to widen here, giving Karaas some breathing room. Just as quickly, the breath was caught in his throat when a blade stopped right before it. The wielder was a man who had leapt out from behind some stalagmites, wearing a blue and silver cuirass that bore the griffon emblem. “Halt. Who…”

“Woah, easy there, Stroud,” Hawke chided nonchalantly, as if Karaas wasn’t one false move away from bleeding out the neck. “It’s just the Inquisitor and company come to talk.”

“My apologies, Herald.” The assailant quickly lowered his blade and sheathed it. “One cannot be too careful these days.”

Karaas rubbed his throat gingerly. “Indeed. That aside, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Stroud, was it?”

“Yes. Jean-Marc Stroud, at your service, Inquisitor.”

At that moment, there was another shrill squeak, this time much closer. Out of the corner of his eye, Karaas saw Hawke visibly flinch. Surely these two things were not related! Though puzzled, he ignored the reaction for the time being. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

However, as they began to discuss the very grave business at hand, Karaas couldn’t help but notice Hawke shifting in his peripheral. A nug had emerged from the gloom and was sniffling the ground near Stroud, and Hawke was actually inching AWAY, putting himself behind Varric as if using his friend as a shield. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about how peculiar this behavior was in the middle of such an important conversation, but still, it was impossible to ignore!

Finally, the nug scampered closer to Varric, wriggling its squashed snout and gripping at the stones beneath it with its dexterous hands, and Hawke had enough. Even though Stroud was in the middle of a sentence, he blurted “I’m going to check outside!” and fairly ran from the room.

Everyone remaining stared at his retreating back, and then down to the innocent little creature who remained oblivious to the terror it instilled in the Champion of Kirkwall.

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

A while later, the group emerged from the cavern, squinting in the harsh light after being so long in the dark. Once their eyes adjusted, they saw Hawke sitting with Cole on an outcropping of rocks. Despite the silence between them, it didn’t seem uncomfortable. Hawke rose as soon as he noticed them.

“So what’s the plan, then?”

Karaas eyed him carefully, looking for any sign of distress. At least for now, Hawke seemed calm. He wouldn’t push the issue. “We will head out to the Western Approach where the Venatori are performing some kind of ritual. We need to stop whatever it is that they are doing to the Wardens, and crashing their party is the only way to get more information. You will come with us, won’t you?”

“Of course! Those creeps are going to pay big time, and I want to be there when they do!” Hawke pounded his hand in his fist. “I’m guessing you’ll return to Skyhold to regroup first?”

“Yes, we’ll finish a few odds and ends out here, then head back.”

“Good. I’ll meet you at Skyhold then and we can travel to the Approach together.” Hawke turned to go. “Catch you later.”

“Hey, Hawke, hold on just one moment,” Varric demanded.

Hawke turned and gave his best innocent face. “What’s the matter, Varric dear?”

“Tell me the truth, Hawke. Are you afraid of nugs?”

For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of the breeze blowing across the hills. Every eye was on the Champion. Finally, he swallowed hard enough that they could see the bob of his Adam’s apple. “What if I was?”

The words were out of Cassandra’s mouth before she could restrain them. “You? The Champion of Kirkwall, afraid of nugs? But you’ve fought dragons and abominations, and even a lyrium-riddled Templar! Why, I heard you even ended up in the Fade! All of that, and innocent little NUGS are what you fear?” This earned looks of disapproval from both Karaas and Varric, and she quickly shrunk in regret at her brash words.

Hawke scowled and turned away. “I’m not proud of it, okay? Those things are so freaking creepy with their blind, beady little eyes, that messed-up face, completely hairless and…” he gave a shudder, “those HANDS. Sweet Maker, that is all kinds of messed up! What if they grabbed my legs with those awful grasping hands?!”

Varric was the first to speak. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it, I was just curious. You were acting really weird back there and I wanted to know what was wrong, that’s all. After all these years together, I like to think I know you. This, this I didn’t know.” He shrugged. “I guess it makes sense that it never came up. After all, you don’t see nugs in Kirkwall. You know, the Battle of Squealing Plains that nobody talks about.”

“The what?” Karaas stared, confused.

“They killed all the nugs in Kirkwall a few ages ago. Thought they carried the blight. It’s not exactly considered an acceptable dinner topic, as you can imagine by the name.”

“Seriously?” Cassandra was equally shocked.

“They don’t carry the blight, they run from it. Flee the tunnels and into the light, scared and helpless, no match for the cruel new world. Poor nugs…” Cole lamented, shaking his head sadly. “But you saw them run. And behind them, Darkspawn. And you both ran together.”

Now Hawke’s shoulders slumped. “When the Blight hit Lothering. There were…a lot of nugs. That was the first sign.”

“I see. That makes total sense, big guy.” Varric approached his friend and offered a comforting pat on the back. “That was a bad time.”

Cassandra too was moved. Without warning, she dropped to one knee. “I must apologize, Hawke, for my insensitive behavior. I have read Varric’s book, and heard so much about you, that you are a heroic figure in my mind. I forget that you are a man like any other, with your own fears. It was unworthy of me and I am deeply sorry.”

Now the Champion was blushing in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head. “Hey, it’s all good. That’s the kind of thing Carver would have told me anyhow. Except, he probably would have also thrown in the term ‘big baby’ as well.”

“You have no judgement from any of us, Hawke. You have more than proved your valor. And if it makes you feel better, I…am afraid of spiders,” Karaas offered generously.  
Cassandra and Varric did a double-take. “Wait, so back there under Caer Bronach, that was the reason you were gritting your teeth and gripping your greatsword so tightly your knuckles turned white?” Cassandra wondered.

“Heh, you noticed that, huh?” was his sheepish response. “Old childhood incident. Never been the same after that. But hey, no time to discuss that now.”

“You’ll have to humor me on our way back to Skyhold then,” she remarked dryly, with no small amount of amusement.

This had indeed lightened the mood, as was Karaas’s hope. Hawke seemed to regain his former composure. “Right. As I said, I’ll meet you there.”

“Just don’t mention it to Leliana.” Cole offered a sudden warning, still quite serious. “Mr. Schmooples II is very important to her even though he frightens you.” He hadn’t meant to be funny, but something about Cole reciting the name of Leliana’s pet nug in such a solemn tone was hilarious to the others. They all burst into laughter, ringing in the hills as the sun began to set. From deep inside the cave, Stroud had wonder what was so funny.


End file.
